Spinning device



June 9, 194:2.

v H. D.. ELSE srnmme DEVICE Filed Sept. 10, 1940 f INVENTOR HarryD 7.56. fwd

ATTORNEY Patented June 9, 1942 UNETE D STAT E PATEN T O FF 1 CE SPINNING DEV-ICE Barry D. Else, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 10, 1.940, SenialaNo. 356,123

-8 Claims.

My invention relates to an apparatus for spinning thread and the like. More specifically, it

relates to a spinning bucket and assembly, having improvements for effecting the development of a cake of thread and for the feeding and twisting of such thread.

An object of my invention is to provide a spinning bucket with means for creating a vacuum therein by virtue of the rotational movement of the spinning bucket.

Another object of my invention is to provide the spinning bucket with a lid which is adapted to engage the thread as the funnel is raised out of the bucket so as to give the thread a twist.

Another object of my invention is to provide resilient thread twisting means which is automatically operative upon raising of the funnel.

Another object of my invention is to provide a special method of feeding a plurality of threads through a tunnel in the manner so as to preventcrossover.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study of the following specification when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view in cross section of a spinning device embodying the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial view similar to Fig. 1 showing the funnel in'a raised position which affords withdrawal and twist (by rubbing on the lid of the bucket) of the thread;

Fig. 3 is a top view of a tensioning device which automatically comes into operation upon predetermined raising of the funnel;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the funnel showing a method of feeding a plurality of threads; and

Fig. :6 is a cross sectional view of a modified form of funnel, that is, one having a plurality of separate chambers.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1, 'num eral I. denotes a vertically disposed spinning bucket which is-driven by a motor (notshown). A funnel 3 is vertically movable by a traverse 4 in the direct-ion indicated by the arrows by means (not shown) well known in the art. The funnel guides and feeds a thread 5 onto a cake 6 in a manner well known in the art. A housing 1 is provided which encloses the spinning bucket I and has a substantially air-tight fit with the motor and with the funnel 3. A fairly close fitting collar or gland 8 rests loosely on the cover of housing 1 and forms a substantially air-tight connection with the funnel. By making housing I substantially air-tight with the exception of a plurality of holes or openings 9 .near the bottom of the bucket, ;a suction is created by virtue of the rotation .of the bucket, which suction will draw the yarnorthread down the funnel. .Once the threadl has started .to feed into the bucket no difficulty will be experienced in feeding it at almost any desirable speed, inasmuch as the suctionat the lower end of the funnel is bolstered by the centrifugal .iorce of the length of thread extending from the tip ;of the funnel to the inner .wallof cake. While the spinning of the bucket itself may be sufficient tocrea-te the necessary suction, it is often desirable to increase the amount. of suction. This increase. in suction may be effected by the addition'of a disc or the addition of fan blades, such as 1.9, near the bottom of the bucket and extending toward the holes 9. Of course, if a still .higher suction is desired, a supplemental external blower with a piping system: could :be used. However, this entails additiona'l apparatus and is usually not very desirable, particularly since sumcient suction can usually be obtained by shallow fan blades, such as in. Small holes in the outer wall of the bucket (not shown) may .be desirable in some instances but are not necessary. I prefer to makeboth the bucket and funnel of metal in on der to eliminate .drflicu'ltyotherwise encountered byistatic.

One of. the difficulties encountered is the collapse .of theeak'e when the motor is stopped. .One method .of remedying defect is that of feeding foreign material through the funnel, such as ticker itape, order to builda tubular core. Such means usually are not the best ways of accomplishing the result. :I prefer to feed the yarn into the bucket applying part of the twist and without stopp ng the bucket, reversing the feed to withdraw the yarn and .complete the twist. Satisfactory results are attainable by feeding the yarn very rapidly :into the :bucket applying only one of .two twists per inch and taking it out slowly to obtain a total of eight vor ten twists per inch. In removing the yarn from the bucket, it is essential that it drag over a member rotating at bucket speed.

Fig. 2 shows "the effect .on the yarn when the funnel is raised well above the top of the bucket, that is, the yarn will drag over the edge of a hole in the bucket lid. The funnel may be provided with a rubber ring element II which will engage gland 8 upon raising of the funnel so as to permit withdrawal of the funnel. However, I pre.

fer not to withdraw the funnel but to maintain it in the position shown in Fig. 2 during removal of the thread. Under certain conditions such as spinning a large number of twists per inch the thread tends to knot and snarl due to the fact that the centrifugal force of the portion of the thread extending from the edge of the hole in v the lid plus the frictional resistance at the edge of the hole does not produce sumcient drag to maintain tension. In such cases a device such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is very suitable. ferring to Fig. 4, two spring arms l2 and I3 are provided which are spread apart by means of a stopper I4 in the lid of the bucket during the feeding-in portion of the cycle. However, when the funnel is raised the rubber stopper II will engage the bottom of stopper M and lift the same, thereby allowing spring arms I2 and 13 to move inwardly so as to engage the yarn and thus impart additional drag thereto during the removal operation of the yarn.

In the feeding of a plurality of strands of yarn or thread, I find it highly desirable to feed the strands from different points along the periphery of the funnel as shown in Fig. 5 so as to avoid crossovers when doubling. Feeding a plurality of twisted threads is ordinarily known as doubling even though there are more than two. By feeding the various strands in angular relation as shown in Fig. 5, crossovers are practically eliminated. With certain types of material or when doubling more than three strands it may be necessary to employ a funnel with multiple channels, such as shown in Fig. 6, that is, a funnel having a plurality of separate channels formed by partition member [5 so that each thread will move through a separate chamber, or, in effect, through a separate funnel.

I am, of course, aware that others, particularly after having had the benefit of the teachings of my invention, may devise other devices embodying my invention, and I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the specific showings made in the drawing and the descriptive disclosure hereinbefore made, but wish to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and such prior art that may be pertinent.

I claim as my invention:

1. A thread spinning apparatus including a vertically mounted spinning bucket for forming a cake of thread, means for driving said spinning bucket, and means for feeding the thread along the height of the bucket, a compartment which encloses said bucket, said compartment being perforated adjacent the lower end of the bucket and being otherwise substantially air-tight for effecting a vacuum within said chamber by virtue of rotational movement of said bucket, said vacuum drawing the thread downwardly of said bucket, and means mounted on and extending radially of the bucket, adjacent the bottom thereof, for creating centrifugal air currents thereby increasing the amount of vacuum created in said chamber by said bucket.

2. A thread spinning apparatus including a vertically mounted spinning bucket for forming a cake of thread, means for driving said spinning bucket, and means for feeding the thread along the height of the bucket, a compartment which encloses said bucket, said compartment being perforated adjacent the lower end of the bucket and being otherwise substantially air-tight for effecting a vacuum within said chamber by virtue of rotational movement of said bucket, said vacuum drawing the thread downwardly of said bucket, and fan blade means mounted on said bucket adjacent the bottom thereof and extending toward said perforations for creating centrifugal aircurrents thereby increasing the amount of vacuum created in said chamber by said bucket.

3. A thread spinning apparatus including a spinning bucket for forming a cake of thread, means for driving said spinning bucket, and means for feeding the thread along the height of the bucket, said bucket having an annular lid, spring means supported on the inner circumferential portion of said lid for effecting tension of said thread when removing the thread from said bucket.

4. A thread spinning apparatus including a spinning bucket for forming a cake of thread,

means for driving said spinning bucket, a funnel for guiding said thread into said bucket, and means for movingsaid funnel coaxially of said bucket, said bucket having an annular lid, a pair of spring means normally separated by an annular element coaxially supported on said lid, peripherally located means on the bottom of said funnel for engaging and lifting said annular element upon raising of said funnel to allow said spring means to engage said thread and effect tensioning thereof during its upward movement.

5. A thread spinning apparatus including a spinning bucket for forming a cake of thread, means for driving said spinning bucket, a funnel for guiding said thread into said bucket and means for moving said funnel coaxially of said bucket, means for feeding a plurality of threads at an angle and radially of the top of said funnel from a plurality of circumferentially spaced points, and partitioning means within said funnel for providing barriers to afford separation of each of said threads to avoid crossovers thereof.

6. A thread spinning apparatus including a spinning bucket for forming a cake of thread, means for driving said spinning bucket, and means for feeding the thread along the height of the bucket, a compartment which encloses said bucket, said bucket having openings therein connecting the interior thereof with the interior of said compartment, said compartment having a plurality of openings in the walls thereof through which air therein may be discharged by centrifugal force due to rotation of saidbucket for efiecting a vacuum within said bucket, said compartment being otherwise air-tight except for said last named openings, said "vacuum drawing the thread downwardly of said bucket.

7. In a thread spinning apparatus, in combi nation, a spinning bucket for forming a cake of thread, means for driving said spinning bucket, a funnel for guiding the thread into the bucket, said funnel including means for introducing and guiding a plurality of threads longitudinally of said funnel while maintaining said threads separated circumferentially of said funnel;

8. In the method of forming a cake of thread in a spinning bucket having a funnel for guiding the thread into the bucket, the step which comprises feeding a plurality of threads at an angle and radially of the top of said funnel from a plurality of circumferentially spaced points.

HARRY D. ELSE. 

